Brazilian dominance predicted at Brave 18
Luan Santiago will be competing his first fight outside Brazil for Brave Combat Federation at Brave 18. The 2016 Brazilian Fighter of the Year was showcased by Fighter’s Only as the prospect to look out for in 2018. Luan Santiago had faced Lucas Mineiro for the lightweight world championship title after Ottman Azaitar declined to face both the top contenders. An interim title was introduced and Santiago lost the bout to a stoppage as he injured his shoulder in the final moments of the bout. The 2016 Brazilian Fighter of the Year predicted an amazing future for MMA in Brazil at Brave 18.
Santiago has recovered from the injuries and have resumed training at CM System under the veteran coach, Cristiano Marcello. He will make his return to Brave Combat Federation to face Djamil Chan from Netherlands. Chan made his promotional debut at Brave 14 in Tangier, Morocco knocking out Alejandro Martinez within 29 seconds of the first round creating the record for the fastest knockout in the promotion. The fight card also features three Brazilian fighters contesting for the world championships in three weight classes. Lucas Mineiro will defend his lightweight world championship against Abdul Kareem Al Selwady in the main event. The Bantamweight world champion, Stephen Loman from Philippines will be challenged by Felipe Efrain from Brazil. Velimurad Alkhasov from Russia will face Marcel Adur from Brazil for the Flyweight championship.
With four major stars competing from Brazil, the event is closely followed by fans and media in the nation. Brave 18 marks the first event featuring a major lineup of Brazilian stars in the Kingdom of Bahrain. Currently Lucas Mineiro is the only champion from Brazil to hold a world championship. Luan expressed his hope that there will be more athletes joining Lucas as the champion after Brave 18.
“This event is going to be awesome! I think everyone is going to get along. I have great friends involved, the “Mineiro” and Adur, mainly. Imagine how the heart looks seeing two brothers fighting in the same card. Efrain is also a brat, a lot of good people, and he’ll get the vibes too. Everyone will win!”, predicted Luan Santiago.
